Sarnath
Located on the Sarne, Sarnath of the Tall Towers is the seat of the High King of the Sarnori, who dwells in the fabled Palace With a Thousand Rooms. Location and Geography Built upon the edge of the River Sarne, Sarnath sits upon the road that travels from Qohor to the Steel Road that passes the Bone Mountains. Rathylar sits to west and the trading behemoth of Kasath to the east. As the Capital of the Kingdom of Sarnor, the City is ruled by the High-King, Mezo Alexi, from the Palace With a Thousand Rooms. History In 72BA, at the Field of Crows the Tagaez Fen made their final stand against the Dothraki. The High-King of Sarnath Mazor Alexi was slain, along with all his family bar his son Fozhai, who was in the north petitioning the Tall Men of Saath, Sarys and the Ibbenese to join the fight against the Dothraki. The High-City of Sarnath is sacked shortly after the defeat, and would not be reclaimed until 56BA, following an eastward sweep of the united Sarnori force behind High-King Fozhai Alexi. In 16BA, the armies of Sarnath were involved in the liberation of Sarys from Ibbenese occupation, as well as men from Sarys and Essaria. In 64AA, fighting erupted between Kyth and Rathylar after the latter blockades trade of the former with the High City of Sarnath. At the Field of Silence, the two cities met, starting a battle that raged for the best part of a week, and cost near five thousand lives. Included in the number was the King of Rathylar himself, Onlo Eifali, who was cut down by a war chariot amidst the chaos. Fighting broke out between Sarys and Sallosh over control of the peninsula on the northern coast of Essos known as the Kingdom of the Omber in 237AA. Seeking a marriage between his daughter and the heir to the throne of the High-King of Sarnath, King Ouma of Sallosh offers the land as a dowry, angering the people of Sarys, who claim that they have no right to such an offering. The conflict comes to a finale at the Valley of Aln, but unlike the first Battle of Aln, the people of Sarys win a decisive victory against the Tagaez Fen of Sallosh. Sallosh loses its claim over the Kingdom of the Omber, and with it hope of marriage. The simultaneous sieges of Sathar and Kasath by a Ghiscari army of sellswords and slave warriors take place in 287AA following growing tensions regarding trade through Kasath and Hazdahn Mo result in the disorganisation of commerce throughout the Kingdom of Sarnor. Whilst the cities are eventually delivered from their beleaguers by armies from Gornath-by-the-Lake and Sarnath, the effects of the blockade of the City of Caravans remains felt to present day. In response to the huge Ghiscari-funded army of sellswords and slave warriors marching north in an attempt to sack Kasath and Sathar a year previously, the High-King of Sarnath leads the counter-attack personally, bringing with him an army numbering near forty thousand, including eight thousand chariots. They ravage the cities of Mareekai, Ghardaq and Hesh, but cannot break the defences of Meereen. Sacking Hazdahn Mo on their return to Sarnor, they leave a wake of devastation and death in their wake. Layout * Palace With a Thousand Rooms - by name and design, the Palace With a Thousand Rooms was the largest palace West of the Bone Mountains. With a room for every servant, slave, noble, emissary and high merchant, all who served the High-King of Sarnor were welcomed into the royal home of Mezo Alexi. Built with heavy blocks of marble and emblazoned with gold and the finest gems found in the known world. The tiled floors were lined with liquid silver, sealing the marble together, so the floors sparkled and radiated great wealth as the embers of torchlight created a shiny gloss as any man walked upon them. * The Alakead of Yezar - the second greatest academy of scholars in Sarnor and indeed, the known world. Second only to Amai Alakead in City of Scholars, Sallosh. Some of the finest minds in Sarnor and Essos would train, read and learn the greater secrets of the world, from medicine to agriculture to technology. * Palace of Sorcerers - whilst many civilisations within the known world fear the mystic arts of the unknown, the Sarnori approach such things methodically with a view to understand and learn. The palace is much more a temple in the aesthetic with tall spires and fine architecture. The Palace itself is forbidden to all, with some access being granted to the scholars fo the Alakead and the High-King himself. But the deeper, darker secrets of the Palace of Sorcerers are kept well under lock and key. * Qatal Ba’alash - Like many cultures that practice slavery, Sarnath hosts the greatest games in all of Essos. From the pits of Qatal Ba'alash rise the finest slave warriors in the known world. Only the greatest gamemakers from Slaver's Bay and beyond will attend with their stock, though few will return with their prized warriors in one piece. * The Wahaysh - in 288 AA, Mezo Alexi developed a fascination for the animals. In the centre of Sarnath, he had the city construct the large menagerie in the world. From aurochs to wyverns, Sarnath had them all. Those born as cubs and babes would be regularly visited by the High-King as he entered their cages, only to quell his fascination for the wild beasts and even attempt to tame them. Though not all wild beasts desire a master. * The Temples of Ankasi and Syan - almost identical in every way, the temples are built in the darkest bricks and have worn over the thousands of years since the birth of the faiths. Down-trodden into fanatic cults, the temples are crumbling, wretched and decayed. Those most pious to the ancient religions still keep the temples alive, but only just. Stood on opposite sides of the same street, a wall of one hundred guards stand between them. Once a necessity to keep the acolytes from war, but now a tradition that would be kept as long as the temples stand. * Silver Temple of the Fisher Queens - more ancient than even Ankasi and Syan, though more a prevalent part of their history than a devoted religion in the Kingdom of Sarnor. Ancient relics are held within displays inside the temple and the building is kept by servants of the city in respect to their great ancestor, Huzhor Amai and those who brought life to him, the Fisher Queens. Category:The Kingdom of Sarnor Category:City Category:Capital Category:Essos Category:Sarnath